The invention relates to an external mirror for vehicles.
From German Patent Document DOS 32 48 759, a kit for vehicle external mirrors is known, comprising a mirror casing which receives a holding part for a mirror glass and also the mirror glass. The mirror casing is hinge-secured by means of a pin and two articulated arms, to a supporting part, which is fastened in turn to the body panel of the vehicle. When this mirror casing is fastened by means of the supporting part to the body panel, the vehicle mirror is already fully made up from the mirror casing, the mirror glass and the holding part. A replacement of one of these parts generally, for time reasons, results in a replacement of the entire vehicle mirror.
For the different models of a motor vehicle, auto companies and customer service outlets often have to store numerous different variations of an external mirror which differ in the mechanics or only, indeed, in the color of the mirror casing. In the case of external mirrors which are already fully assembled, the number of different mechanical embodiments is multiplied by the number of possible mirror casing colors. The high number of possible combinations gives rise to equally high storage costs.
An object of the invention is to reduce the storage costs for an external mirror which fits onto a variety of vehicles and to facilitate its repair.
The object is achieved according to preferred embodiments of the invention by providing an arrangement including:
a holding part attachable to a fixture on a vehicle bodywork part, PA1 a separate mirror casing surrounding the holding part, and PA1 a mirror glass securable to the holding part, PA1 wherein the mirror casing can be pushed over the holding part and can be detachably secured in an end position following the fitting of the holding part supporting the mirror glass to the vehicle.
As a result of the retrospective fitting of the mirror casing to the holding part which is already secured on the vehicle and which bears the mirror glass and the aggregate parts for the pivoting of the mirror glass, there is no need for every external mirror in every possible combination of mirror mechanism and mirror casing color to be stocked. For each vehicle, the desired mirror mechanics are fitted to the holding part and then to the vehicle and a mirror casing suitable for this vehicle is then detachably fixed thereto. If a fault subsequently occurs in the mirror mechanics or following breakage of the mirror glass, the mirror casing can be pulled off and access is gained to the mirror mechanics. Following repair, the same mirror casing can be re-used.
If according to certain preferred embodiments, a cover plate, pointing in the same direction as the body panel, is formed onto or fastened to the holding part, which cover plate fills the cross-section of that end opening of the mirror casing pointing at the body panel, then the mirror casing, after it has been pushed onto the holding part and fixed in place, is also closed off on this side and offers no insight into the interior of the mirror casing in the case of an external mirror which can be swung to one side. Moreover, the mechanics of the external mirror are protected from this side against spraywater.
The mirror casing can easily be detachably secured, in certain preferred embodiments, by at least one leaf spring to the holding part or to some other suitable structural part of the vehicle. This can be a leaf spring which lies with a bent surface pre-tensioned between a surface of a structural part and a surface of the mirror casing or, indeed, a leaf spring which is displaceably mounted upon the cover plate on the holding part and which, in the locking position, projects into a catch in the mirror casing. This leaf spring, which is displaceable along the cover plate, can be actuated from the cavity of the mirror casing through an opening in the cover plate, as a result of which the catch-locking of the mirror casing to the fitted external mirror can be disabled. The displacement of the leaf spring from its locking position can be achieved by the leaf spring partially covering the opening in the cover plate and, for example through the rotation of a screwdriver inserted therein, being able to be pushed out of this covering position and out of the catches on the mirror casing. In the case of a mirror glass which is pivotable in the mirror housing, it is advantageous, in order to prevent it being operated improperly, for the opening in the cover plate to become visible only when the pivotable mirror glass is in a pivotable end position when the external mirror is fitted.
Around the fixture on the vehicle, a sealing strip can be fastened, which surrounds the hinge joint between the fastening to the body panel and the cover plate and protects it from damage. In addition, a sealing strip of this type can be colored differently from the mirror casing, so that any slight color difference which occurs between the mirror casing and the vehicle color is not so obvious.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.